1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk recording method, an optical disk recording program, and an optical disk recording apparatus for forming, adding, and duplicating a visual image on a data recording surface of a recordable optical disk.
2. Prior Art
A recordable optical disk can optically record data through irradiation of a laser beam. These recordable optical disks include write-once-read-many optical disks such as CD-R and DVD-R capable of recording data only once, and rewritable optical disks such as CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM capable of rewriting data.
When a laser beam is irradiated to an organic dye layer (recording layer) of a write-once-read-many optical disk, the laser beam melts the organic dye layer to form a pit. Using this characteristic, the write-once-read-many optical disk records data. When a laser beam is irradiated to a recording layer of a rewritable optical disk, the laser beam changes the recording layer between an amorphous (non-crystalline) state and a crystalline state corresponding to a pit and a land. Using this characteristic, the rewritable optical disk records data.
In this manner, the recordable optical disk forms a pit where the laser beam is irradiated to record data. A location where data is recorded and a location where no data is recorded cause different light reflectance, and therefore cause dark and bright coloring on the recording surface. Using this characteristic, it is possible to draw characters, symbols, pictures, and photos as a visually recognizable image (hereafter referred to as a visual image) by irradiating a laser beam onto a data recording surface of the recordable optical disk. For example, if title information of recorded data is indicated as a visual image on the data recording surface of the recordable optical disk, it becomes unnecessary to handwrite or print the title information of recorded data on the optical disk's label surface. In addition, it is possible to easily identify the recording contents of the optical disk by the formed visual image.
A conventional optical disk recording apparatus forms visual images on a recordable optical disk in the following procedure.
1. When an optical disk is mounted, the optical disk recording apparatus first checks whether or not data can be recorded physically. That is to say, it is determined whether the mounted optical disk is a read-only optical disk such as CD-DA and CD-ROM or is a recordable optical disk such as CD-R and CD-RW.
2. When the read-only optical disk is mounted, the optical disk recording apparatus stops a visual image formation process. When the recordable optical disk is mounted, the optical disk recording apparatus accesses TOC (Table Of Contents) information or temporary TOC information in a PMA (Program Memory Area) to obtain the end position of a data area. If a blank disk is mounted, i.e., an optical disk having neither the TOC information nor temporary TOC information, the optical disk recording apparatus stops a visual image formation process.
3. If the optical disk is capable of forming visual images, the optical disk recording apparatus edits or converts an image to be formed as a visual image automatically or in accordance with a user instruction.
4. When a user issues an instruction to form a visual image on the optical disk, the optical disk recording apparatus forms the visual image on an unused area after the end of the area where data is recorded. At this time, the optical disk recording apparatus forms the visual image as a visibly recognizable image, not as data capable of being read later such as an RF signal modulated on the basis of EFM (Eight to Fourteen Modulation).
5. When another visual image is to be formed on another recordable optical disk, the optical disk recording apparatus performs the above-mentioned processes 1 to 4 without saving data (original data or write data) concerning the visual image most recently formed on the optical disk.
There have been the following problems on the conventional optical disk recording apparatus that forms a visual image on the recordable optical disk according to the above-mentioned procedure.
(1) The conventional optical disk recording apparatus can form a visual image on only a recordable optical disk accessible for adding data, i.e., a recordable optical disk not in the disk-close state. Further, the optical disk that forms a visual image does not record information about a range of visual image formation. When a visual image is formed and another data is added to an optical disk that is not in the disk-close state, another data may be overwritten to the already formed visual image. Since the optical disk does not record the information about a range of visual image formation as mentioned above, the optical disk recording apparatus cannot recognize the range of visual image formation. Data may be recorded to an area where the visual image is formed depending on the amount of recorded data or a position of the formed visual image. In this case, the visual image overlaps with the recorded data, making it impossible to read an overlapped portion of the recorded data.
(2) The conventional optical disk recording apparatus cannot form a visual image on a blank disk where no TOC information or temporary TOC information is recorded. In order to form a visual image on a blank disk, a user needs to record any data before forming the visual image in order to make the disk accessible.
(3) The conventional optical disk recording apparatus creates data for visual images each time a visual image is created without saving original data or write data for the visual image. The same visual image cannot be formed on another optical disk exactly.
(4) The conventional optical disk recording apparatus records a visual image as an EFM-modulated RF signal such as music data and computer data. It has been impossible to read the visual image formed on the optical disk. Since the visual image is not recognized as data, the visual image cannot be duplicated from one optical disk to another.
(5) When a visual image is formed on the optical disk, the conventional optical disk recording apparatus does not record information about a range of visual image formation. Once the visual image is formed, it may be impossible to reliably add another visual image without overlap with the already formed visual image, even if there remains an unused area on the optical disk where the visual image is formed. Normally, the conventional optical disk recording apparatus can form a visual image on the optical disk just only once.